Sydney knife attacker had mental health issues, ideology was not a motive, Australian police say

• Published date: 15 April 2024
• Publication title: Irish Times (Dublin, Ireland)

The attacker, identified by police as 40-year-old Joel Cauchi, was known to police in the neighbouring state of Queensland, and police have spoken to his family after Saturday’s attack, according to police from New South Wales and Queensland states

Mr Cauchi’s family recognised him and contacted police on Saturday after seeing news reports of the killings.

“The family, when they viewed footage of the event on TV, thought that may well have been their son and they reached out to authorities,” said Queensland Police assistant commissioner Roger Lowe.

The family said they were devastated by his actions, expressing condolences to the victims and the police officer who shot him dead. “Joel’s actions were truly horrific, and we are still trying to comprehend what has happened,” the family said in a statement. “He has battled with mental health issues since he was a teenager.”

Witnesses described how Mr Cauchi, wearing shorts and an Australian national rugby league jersey, ran through the Westfield Bondi Junction mall with a knife.

He fatally stabbed six people and injured at least 12 before he was killed by Inspector Amy Scott, who confronted him solo while he was on the rampage.

Some shoppers and staff at the mall in Sydney’s east tried to stop him and crowds sheltered in shuttered shops.

“This was a terrible scene,” New South Wales Police assistant commissioner Anthony Cooke told reporters. “There is still to this point nothing that we have, no information we received, no evidence we have recovered or intelligence that we have gathered that would suggest that this was driven by any particular motivation, ideology or otherwise.”

Mr Cauchi had recently moved to Sydney, the capital of New South Wales, from neighbouring Queensland.

Police said they had searched a small storage facility he had been renting, but found no major evidence to indicate an attack was coming. He had been diagnosed with mental health issues when he was 17 and had been in contact with police frequently in the past four to five years, said Mr Lowe. Mr Cauchi had not been arrested or charged with any crimes in Queensland, he said.

Itinerant lifestyle

Mr Cauchi led an itinerant lifestyle...